


A fairy tale of the four kingdoms

by So_fucking_cute



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, F/M, Magic, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/So_fucking_cute/pseuds/So_fucking_cute
Summary: The beautiful red-leafed trees whispered to each other, making the icy crystal drops that hung from their branches tinkle sweetly. The ground was red, like streaks of blood, and the constant low voices were distracting and distracting. Branches of thorns, like needles, do not miss anyone who dares to come nearer to this forest. The Whispering Forest that had killed most people was waiting for them. They hoped that he would take them with him.
Relationships: Odin Arrow/Ava Ire
Kudos: 7





	1. Autumn is a wonderful time for sadness?

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language, sorry

"Once upon a time, the rule of the four kingdoms was peace and order. And each of them represented its own season: winter, spring, summer and autumn. But something served to divide them, and a war began, so bloody that it was impossible to count the victims. This terrible chaos lasted for ten continuous years, until everyone came to a common agreement about the land and laws. Our ancestors are wizards that divided the Kingdom into four parts, leaving the demon and their families to follow the children that this war doesn't happen again..." little fair-haired girl enthusiastically listened to my mother, that gently read to her the history of all kingdoms. "One day, you will also rule our Kingdom of Autumn, my sweet Ava."

"Me? With you?" she sighed in admiration, and her brown eyes lit up with a light that kindled faith in tomorrow.

"Of course, my dear, and now go to sleep, mother has to go to the annual meeting of the Four Moons," the woman glanced at the purple-clad demoness standing in the bedroom doorway. "Wrathia, we have to go."

"Yes, your Majesty, we'll be back in time for tomorrow's dinner if the meeting starts faster," the lava-skinned demon let the queen pass, closing the door, leaving the little girl alone with her thoughts.

The room was dark, and the smell of dried melissa leaves added to the smell of old but very interesting books. Of course, there were fairy tales among them, but Wrathia often told Ava that fairy tales could not be read forever, otherwise she would be too naive and kind, and given the tension between the kingdoms, this should not be allowed. If you think about it, Ire has never seen people from other realms, because only those who are more than sixteen years old are invited to the meeting of the Four Moons, including princes and princesses.

On this day, as my mother used to say, four different colored moons appear in the sky, matching each Kingdom. This was a sign that only in this moment can you forget about the enmity and quarrels. There was a general neutrality that was strictly forbidden to be violated. And in all history, there were no people who dared to do it. Naturally, everyone — from commoners to knights-wanted to make friends with strangers. People from the Winter part were always dressed in warm clothes: furs, fur coats, and high boots. Their features are stern and suspicious, and they watch you as a hunter watches his prey. Due to the frequent lack of resources, they have to survive in their cold lands, looking for food and easy profit. "Do not touch them — they will not touch you", a favorite parable among all peoples; everyone knew their character, power and authority. Many of them smelled of pine needles or smoke, which characterizes the craving for Smoking various soothing herbs to get away from life a little. But most of all it smelled of death, intimidating and paralyzing.

People from the Summer lands are open and cheerful, carelessly laughing at the way of life of the Winter Kingdom. They do not know what hunger or suffering is; they spend their lives in the fairy woods, playing with them and running on the soft grass. Cute creatures that are dressed in fresh leaves that form dresses or other clothing that the person himself prefers. They are like fairies who live side by side with them in dense and beautiful forests. Playful, funny — not everyone likes it, but without getting acquainted with them, consider, never had fun. And the smell... of the most fragrant flowers you can find in the world. Bright, sweet, intoxicating — they always smell of your favorite flower, whether it's even an ordinary field chamomile.

The inhabitants of the Spring Kingdom are calm and peaceful, not hurting even a harmless creature. Kind and simple-minded people with a soft look will tell you about their traditions, without thinking about anything. They are like bees, working day in and day out on their farms and plantations. It is thanks to them that the Winter Kingdom receives some food because of the trade Alliance that was concluded long ago and still held its power. These people were like fish swimming in the azure seas of the ocean that was their domain; they even smelled of the sea, a small wave that often played with them. Everyone, even the men, wore an outfit consisting of glittering scales, beautifully iridescent colors in the sun. Their mere presence soothed a soul that might have been agitated for days.

And the Autumn Kingdom, the birthplace of Ava, where she was born and raised. Her people were proud and haughty enough on the surface, but at heart they were as kind as the people of the Summer Kingdom. Constantly calculating, neat residents did their daily business, preparing the best pumpkin pies and tea on the planet to suit every taste of the guest. Even sometimes it seemed as if everyone was in a hurry, even saying "hello" as they ran. The little girl even drew sloppy pictures of people eating on the move, and some even sleeping. But as soon as they come out into the light of other realms, they are immediately transformed: they are refined; relaxed speaking, not as usual in cities; they wear the best clothes from colorful leaves that they collect themselves. They smell of something soporific, which makes many yawn for no reason.

All this Ava knew either from her parents or from Wrathia, who only told it under a little pressure, because all the attention during such meetings is focused on her husband, Pedri, the demon of the Winter Kingdom. They can't stay together because of a curse imposed more than a thousand years ago, content with just one night once a year. The demoness, no matter how hard Ava tried, did not tell her story, either swearing at the girl or silently avoiding the answer.

Remembering this, Ava fell asleep, seeing the same nightmare as always. The healer only shrugged, prescribing melissa and other herbs that did not help in any way. The parents were worried about their daughter, not knowing the reason for her dreams, which were like the claws of a wolf.

Blood. Screams. Dead body. Each time it scared her as much as the last. The light of the four moons illuminated the parents, who lay in the same mountain of bleeding bodies. The stone floors began to crack, opening a path to the depths of the world from which there is no way out. She couldn't scream, her lips were stitched together, and her legs didn't move, forcing her to watch one person die after another. Ava didn't know who this man was, who was killing everyone in his path, only the disheveled hair was imprinted on his head. The killer, noticing her, begins to run to her every time with a bloody sword in his hand and a mad look, but the girl falls into the depths of Hell, watching the terrible smile on the face of that person... or not a person.

***

"Are you having those dreams again, Ava?" mom sat on the edge of the bed, watching her daughter sob. This dream had haunted the princess for a year, and no doctor knew what to do. Usually nightmares were easily banished by the smell of herbs or tinctures. But not this time. "Hush, my dear, I'm here."

"B-but he killed you again in front of me!" she was in a terrible state of hysteria, her voice was broken by frequent screams, and her cough was almost a friend of life. "He will come for you, for me, for all of you!"

"Ava, what do you do when you see him?" the queen put her arm around her daughter, stroking her hair. Her blond curls tickled the princess's cheek, which was slowly calming down from the presence of a loved one.

"I'm afraid," Ava whispered to her mother, closing her eyes. The queen's voice soothed her as if she were being rocked in a cradle. "I want to run away, but my legs don't seem to work."

"Try to imagine your dreams, open the door to another dream that you loved to tell us as a child. Remember the fairy tales, our magical places, let their magic penetrate you," she quietly put her daughter on the pillow, and carefully tucked the stray strands from ava's braid. The queen repeated this until the baby fell asleep, breathing evenly and calmly. "I will always be with you, my dear. Always."

***

The guard abruptly opened the door to the room where Wrathia, sipping wine, read the history of the founding of the kingdoms with a girl; after all, Ave was almost sixteen years old, and the coronation was not far off. Today, her mother and father went to the annual meeting of the Four Moons, after which the princess could enter as a true representative of her homeland next year. The guard was a little breathless from running fast, trying to get the information as quickly as possible. "The queen... and the king... they were ... slain by a lord from the Winter realm…"

The demoness dropped the goblet on the paper in surprise, completely soaking the page with a small portrait of her family, where they were smiling against the background of an amazing sunset. Wrathira's face changed as she ran out of the library in an unknown direction.

Ava remembered her terrible dreams, those recurring dreams that foreshadowed danger, warned her, but she only buried them in the farthest corner of her memory, not daring to get them out. And it was her fault.

Tears dripped on the fiery dress, leaving wet marks on the fabric. The air was slowly running out in her lungs, and she almost fainted, but a guard who was passing by the library caught her in time.

"Are you all right, princess? Should I call a doctor?" the man gently held the girl who almost fell. Her legs trembled like an unstable tower. "Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt, we'll get our revenge on those grim bastards."

***

"Today, we are seeing off two great rulers: a queen and a king who ruled wisely but too little. They were wonderful people and parents," it was raining that day. Ava watched as the coffin with her father and mother sank into the damp hole that had been dug recently. She was glad it was raining today. No one saw her tears, only the rainwater washing her face. No one thought that the throne would pass to the princess under the threat of war. The situation was getting worse every day: the princess said nothing about the long-standing alliance between the kingdoms of Autumn and Winter. The people said what they wanted, gossiping that the future queen was preparing an army for the Kingdom of Death. But even Ava didn't know what to do in this situation. Wrathia aggressively shouted that there was a rebellion or error. She didn't believe her husband was involved in this, because Pedri would never have done such a mean thing to her.

If she could, she would have pulled out the killer who had killed almost everyone at that meeting, just like in her dream. Was it a nightmare? What if she pinches herself, she wakes up, as usual, seeing her parents in the morning?

But no matter how much she tormented her wrist, turning the skin red, she still stood in the cold rain, brazenly penetrating her clothes.

"You're liars, you know that?" remembering the words of her parents that they would meet together on the day of her first trip to the meeting, the day of her coronation, her marriage… All this has sunk into the swamp, bogged down forever. "Why did you leave me at such a difficult time?"

Wrathia came up to her, putting her hand on her shoulder, looking pointedly at the grave.

"We have to go, you know? Don't be mad at my husband, you know we can't put you on the wrong track."

The princess clenched her small hands into fists, remembering the disordered hair imprinted on her head.

"It may not be your husband's fault, but the main culprit is the one who killed everyone. If I find out who it is, I will destroy it with my own hands, I promise."

***

A year has passed since the mutiny. Ava often looked out the window, watching the falling leaves in different shades of red and yellow. From every street you could hear the aroma and comfort of home, where in every house you are waiting for your family. Only, the young queen lost it all very early. Even Maggie, the Queen of the Summer realm, had come to the throne only because her father had decided not to burden himself with the burdens of a ruler. And Ava hadn't seen the Spring king in person, only knowing that He was older than all of them. But that wasn't what mattered.

As it turned out from spies and traders, the former ruler of the Kingdom of Winter disappeared without a trace after the massacre, leaving the younger brother to clean up the mistakes of the older one, pinning on him the hatred of all people except his people. Ire didn't know if she felt hatred or indifference toward the current Winter king. It wasn't his fault, after all, for what had happened a year ago.

But the people of Autumn were screaming, begging for revenge on those bastards who had killed their former king and queen. But Ava only said: "Now Is not the time for war, your hatred may burn your heart, but I do not want any more bloodshed." And she was right: Wrathia nervously paced the room, not knowing where to go; her husband was so close, yet so far. The demoness did not tell Ava that she left in the evening and returned in the morning. She was well aware that the lock weighed on her, slowly poisoning her from within. No one knew where the young queen went, but she simply mounted her horse and rode away, away from everyone, out of sight.

***

She walked in the forest that is the border of the realms of Autumn and Winter, where there used to be a wasteland, a barren land, but thanks to the magic of the ancestors, after a while, a Whispering Forest grew here, calling to itself, luring it to its domain. The peculiarity of this border is that if you have quite bad intentions, and your hands are soaked in blood, then the trees will confuse you with their whispers, driving you crazy. Just imagine echoes of the past that laugh, cry, scold you. And the constant tinkling of icy crystal drops, like a lullaby, soothed and made me lie down on the nearest log. And as soon as you fall asleep, you will never wake up, you will become a tree that will whisper to others until the end of time, as if you did not exist at all. Maybe that's why Ava didn't care to follow these paths. But the forest voluntarily parted its prickly, knife-sharp bushes before her. Her feet were soft on the scarlet grass, leaving dark spots, her hands were busy tracing patterns on the tree trunks that had different grimaces, and the hem of her dress, made up of many maple leaves, seemed to tickle the poor earth that had suffered so many years ago. The first time you are afraid of such a place, but in time the enemy will become a friend.

The animals that lived here were amazing. Imagine a walking skeleton of a deer that comes up to you, submissively lowering its head. Squirrels, hares, and other inhabitants of the forest were completely without meat and skin, their bones were whiter than snow, which is in the realm of Death.

"Tell me, dear doe, where can I be alone?" Ava gently touched the animal's scalding cold head, stroking it. The guide went ahead, pointing the way to the thicket of the forest that received the queen as if she were his own.

They meandered from one path to another, sometimes walking in circles, though perhaps it was only her imagination. The trees whispered words of joy and gratitude to the girl, praising her. The sun was sinking below the horizon, illuminating everything for the last time and giving the last warm rays. Soon night will descend on this land, revealing this forest in a more colorful atmosphere than the day.

When the doe led the queen to a large clearing surrounded by ice bushes. Inside the ice were bright leaves that glowed under the light of the moon. It was so peaceful here, no one was demanding war or any other explanation for her alliance with the Winter Kingdom. It was here that she was an ordinary person, on whom nothing depends. Sitting down and leaning against the trunk of a tree, Ava took off her wreath of huge leaves and berries, closed her eyes and fell asleep, wishing she would not wake up tomorrow.


	2. Winter - a feeling of uselessness?

Outside a terrible snowstorm was raging, swaying the trees from side to side, making a rather prolonged sound. There was no one in the streets, and a reassuring smoke rose from the roofs of the houses, indicating that people had wood in their stoves. After all, the new king had to be torn into several parts, otherwise either revolution or war threatened. Olai ran away like a coward after breaking the sacred law without saying anything. Even the Pedri who had raised him could not explain why the former ruler had done this, exacerbating a problem like unions. Now everyone, including old friends, like the death of his kingdom. Only here, people did not know the truth, having a grudge against the current king.

Odin Arrow is the second son in their family to take the crown in place of a traitorous brother. He never thought that he would become king, given the system of succession. A naive dream, in the form of a royal artist, broke as well as a vase standing in the corridor.

"Boy," a demon with a skull mask with three holes for eyes entered the room where the fireplace was crackling. Surprisingly, he was quite calm, given the ban on future meetings of the Four Moons. Still, his wife remained in the Kingdom of Autumn, which with all its heart hates the Kingdom of Winter. "We need to talk."

"W-what do you want?" Arrow pushed the letters away, turning to the tall, purple-skinned demon. There was an air of mystery about him, and something that Odin did not understand. "If it's about the f-fact that the current queen of Autumn didn't b-b-break off her alliance with us, then I don't k-know why."

"If you didn't know, we have more enemies than you have hair on your face," Pedri pointed to the growing beard that made him look like his father, who had died a long time ago. "The Kingdom of Summer, though they are no more than bugs under my boots, threaten to join with the other two if circumstances so require."

"And Spring? They t-terminated the trade?" Odin jumped up from his chair, interrupting the demon. Without the provisions of these workers, they are unlikely to survive this year, given the impending war, crop failure and much less production than a couple of years ago. If this goes on, you will have to beg for help.

"The Summer queen has begun to threaten their king with the termination of all contracts if they dare to send us supplies," Pedri observed, his wary face showing fear for the future. Yes, even a child understands that one wrong step and the end will come. "Things are very bad, boy, and we need to work out a plan."

"What p-plan? We have three e-enemies who want us d-dead, and my brother i-is hiding somewhere on this p-planet, running these p-problems like a toy mechanism!" Odin wanted to panic, but what kind of king would he be if he was always worried about problems circling like scavengers? Taking out a pipe filled with herbs, soothing stray nerves, Arrow lit it, taking a deep drag. His head cleared a little, and heart returned to its former rhythm, a little tap-dancing.

"Firstly, one enemy. Autumn and Spring, so far, are neutral to us, and I do not think that my wife will allow her queen to start a war with us," crossing his hands, the demon quietly approached the door, leaving a small opening. "Secondly, I thought I had taught you that eavesdropping is wrong."

Pedri had two sisters, Crow and Raven, dangling their legs in the air, trying to hit the demon.

"Let us go!" they shouted, and Odin only gasped, looking at those evil faces that were guilty of their brother. As soon as the demon set them down on the soft carpet, the twins looked like they were doing a good job, not listening at the door.

Looking at these pranksters, Arrow could not get enough of their similarity to each other, which they often used to play the servants or other people. Her hair was short and black, like both her brother's, and it often looked disheveled, but her purple eyes always looked straight into her soul. They were silent, unwilling to say anything after their great failure to spy on their brother. "Did you w-want to do something, or did you decide to p-practice your skills?"

"Yes, if it wasn't for this...!" Crow pointed a finger at the demon who was glaring at them, but the sister quickly silenced the twin, interrupting her.

"She meant that if it wasn't for Pedri, you wouldn't have noticed us, brother," Raven, whose bow on her head was a distinctive feature among the twins, was afraid of nanezgani's anger, determined not to make him angry again. "And we're not coming to you empty-handed, either."

"Then why didn't you come in earlier?" the demon loomed over them like a thundercloud waiting for its hour. In this mood, no one dared to contradict Nanezgani, knowing his bad character.

"It was interesting to see my brother's little psychos," Crow giggled, covering her mouth with her hand to hide a snide smile. His sisters wouldn't be if they didn't joke about Odin at every opportunity. The twin's faces changed, taking on a serious look that spoke of the importance of the report. They were his ears, picking up any news or rumor. "In any case, someone has been walking in the Whispering Forest at night for the past few weeks; some of the Braves have gone there and never returned. We would have gone ourselves, you know, but…"

Arrow knew that the sisters didn't like things like magical places that couldn't be used for their own purposes. Still, their borders wouldn't be them if everyone could walk through it. Odin knew exactly where they were going: their brother had to go there and, like a true king, deal with a possible threat, so that the people would begin to see him as a reliable ruler. Although the sisters were annoying, they were as cunning as anyone. "Anyway, I need to get some air. Pedri, if they s-start doing something again, just p-punish them the way you did me when I was a kid."

"With great pleasure," even without removing the demon mask, the sisters would have said that there was a malicious and sadistic smile lurking there.

***

From the castle to the border with a huge brown wolf serving as a steed instead of horses, as was the case with the others, it did not take much time, especially if at this moment you think that you may be riding to a certain and lonely death. But if the king does not go there alone, everyone will say: "He didn't even get his hands dirty, the army did everything." So if you die, it's with a clear conscience. His cloak fluttered in the wind, which beat mercilessly against his face, which was protected by a warm mask. Even without looking closely, it was clear that Odin was dressed in the traditions of his kingdom: fluffy and warming fur, protected both from the outside and inside; gloves, like boots, were based on swan down, as many residents of the kingdom. There was nothing about him that could give him away as a ruler — it could play into his hands.

The wolf's paws touched the cold snow with confidence, cutting through the empty field that marked the approach to the Whispering Forest. Sometimes Arrow thought of going there and not returning, both before and after his brother's escape. In the family, except for the deceased parents and the youngest sister, no one liked him, considering him the most underdeveloped member. Could he just throw himself into the arms of the forest and become another tree in the midst of it? But Arrow dismissed the thought as he saw the ice trees towering into the sky. From their branches, leaves of various colors hung like earrings, taking the form of drops, like tears.

The wind played with them, creating a slight murmur, as the name of the forest suggested. The moon was already lighting up this border, as if inviting to the night realm of rest and death. With a sigh, Odin slung his sword at his side, dagger in hand. His wolf remained lying near the entrance to the forest, obediently waiting for his master.

The white snow had given way to scarlet grass, leaving dark streaks on the sole of his boot, as if he were walking on blood instead of on the ground. But as soon as he touched the grass, everything became normal, as if it were his imagination. Indeed, if you stay here for a long time, you can go mad without waiting for the signal. Gradually, the icy crowns of the trees became woody, as they should be, only the leaves that formed the drops were replaced by icicles that made a pleasant soothing sound.

The forest was not going to let him go: in front of Odin, thorn bushes grew sharply, whose thorns could hurt as much as a sword, and the paths often crossed each other, entangling and leading more and more into the thicket. Thoughts swirled in his head — perhaps he would become a tree sooner than find the intruder who had brought the ruler here.

Suddenly his ears caught the sound of branches snapping, as if entangling someone nearby. As he followed the sound, Arrow had no doubt that this was the intruder who had succumbed to the magic of the forest. Running out into a circular clearing, giving the bush a piece of the cloak that had clung so tightly to the thorns of a dry plant, Odin looked around the area, looking for the person who was there.

But only a little girl, dressed in a dress consisting of bright yellow-red leaves, was entangled in the branches of a tree, near which she lay as if dead. She didn't look like a violent trespasser, but rather like a lost little girl who had foolishly wandered in. Running up to it, Odin cut the branches, which had become very soft for the point of the dagger, throwing them aside. If he hadn't been there in time, the girl would have been one of the voices that began to whisper harder, but their words were indistinguishable, as if they were speaking a different language.

"S-s-shut up!" he shouted at the trees that obeyed his command, and began to search for the pulse, which was getting weaker by the second. If he didn't take serious action, the girl might die in his arms. As a child, Odin read first aid books, but there was no practice, he is not a doctor yet. But, knowing the theory, the guy, closing his nose, began to perform artificial respiration, trying to alternate this with a heart massage. He had to lower his dress, revealing a small breast covered with poppy petals. Blow after blow, in and out. He repeated this until the girl began to breathe herself, but did not Wake up. The job was done, though Odin felt a little self-conscious when he brought the dress back to its original state.

Taking off his cloak, Arrow covered the stranger with it, thinking about his future actions. In all the time that he had been wandering around here, the boy had received: tired legs, ears withering from voices, but just frustration that he could not find the source of the problems, because it is unlikely that such a baby, who almost died here, could be a spy or an enemy.

Taking a pipe from an inner pocket and lowering his mask, Odin set fire to his herbs, throwing the extinguished match into the grass. Exhaling purple smoke like lilac in the Kingdom of Spring, the guy sat down next to the girl, looking at the stranger closer, studying her as if she were a picture.

Matted brown hair, rather small build, for his cloak was almost twice the size of her own. She smelled pleasantly of cinnamon and a friendly fire, kindled in a pleasant setting. She was clearly from the Autumnal realm, so don't even think about it. Only here the clothes did not correspond to the usual commoner: a wreath of dried leaves lying on the side was striking in its majesty, the sleeveless dress was intertwined with poppy flowers in the heart area, and a pendant in the form of a blue butterfly with green triangles on the wings, completed the picture. This girl looked more like a princess than just an ordinary citizen, and his curiosity echoed to see what was in the pendant, which glittered in the moonlight. The hand was slowly reaching for it, waiting for some clue to the situation.

"Mmm, where am I?" she sat up and rubbed her neck, which was stiff and slightly aching, and looked up to see a stranger almost touching her breast. Blushing instantly, she screamed and slapped his arm, leaping away. "Who the hell are you?"

"You g-got it all wrong, f-f-fool," he looked at her, confused, waiting for something. "And something I don't h-hear: "Thank you for s-saving me, without you, I would b-be a poor t-tree?" the guy got up and took a drag on the smoke from his pipe. "I s-saved your life, s-sort of."

"What? Am I still alive?" she started pinching herself, trying to check the reality, but it didn't change. The girl began to tremble, clutching her head. "Why am I still alive?"

"What do you mean? Shouldn't you be h-happy that your life is safe?" Arrow had never experienced suicidal thoughts before, except for his own-it was something both surprising and terrifying.

"No one asked you to help me!" tears welled up in her eyes, trickling down her sunset-red cheeks and onto the same ground. She was not at all glad of his help, but where should she go now, a girl whose desire was forbidden, like love. "I came here to die!"

"I-I-didn't think people wanted to die voluntarily," he searched for the right words before uttering such a stupid thing. Just because he hasn't encountered this problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist at all. Should I send her home, back to where she came from? But if they find out that she tried to kill herself, it won't be long before the trial. "In that case, I'll have to t-take you to my k-king about your f-fate. I myself am a guard sent to investigate the situation," he offered her a helping hand that became a ray of light. "My n-name is Odin, and yours?"

"Ava." she put her hand in his, looking into those strange violet, amethyst-like eyes.

***

Ava had never seen so much snow around her, yet she lived constantly in the golden autumn, where there is only a sad rain. The wolf they rode was very warm and soft, like a cloud, and all around them the country looked like one big, lifeless field with cold sands that are near the sea. The moon shone on them as they rode toward the castle, reflecting the beauty of the winter fields. But this is the Kingdom of Death, in which she did not want to die, but it could be her salvation. Who knew what their king might do if he found out that it was the young ueen who was trespassing in the woods. She might have been tortured, demanded the land of Autumn for her release, or things she didn't even want to think about.

"Are you all right?" Odin looked at her, sitting in front of him, clutching the wolf's fur. "We can s-slow down if you want, but we'll be there by noon, of course."

"No, it's all right, I'm just wondering how your king will react to me being a trespasser." she wrapped her cloak around her, trying to keep warm — her clothes weren't designed for this cold, so she had to cling more tightly to the body sitting behind her.

"Well, you're not a s-spy, just someone who didn't really want to l-live," he rubbed his neck uncomfortably at this statement. "so you've been f-going there all these days to d-die? And the forest rejected you for so long?" he asked question after question, not even letting the girl get a word in, who looked rather exhausted, as if her life force had left her.

"I don't want to talk about it; if I am told to die, I will obey," Ava wrapped her arms around the wolf's neck, closing her eyes and dozing. He had to hold her to keep her from falling. So small, as if from a fairy tale, it was unimaginably similar to the princess from his childhood dreams. Sweet, kind, a little timid, but at the same time persistent girl. Only one thing spoiled the whole picture: people from different kingdoms were forbidden to be together, it was considered something dirty and disgusting. The ancestors, before creating borders, issued a law prohibiting the relations of people from different kingdoms, so as not to create so-called "bastard's" that spoil purebloods. There were, of course, cases when lovers left their homeland, but they could be counted on the fingers — this happened very rarely. What's the point? They'd only known each other for a few hours, and he didn't know her any more than she knew him. It's just that Ava looks like a child's dream, nothing more. But the feeling in her chest told her otherwise, whispered that she needed to be protected. And he decided to follow the voice of his heart for once in his life, even if he regretted it.

"I won't let t-you die, I promise" Odin wouldn't let that happen, because he is the king, and only he can give such orders. And no one would dare touch her.

***

When she awoke, they were almost at the gate of the castle, whose towers rose like giants into the sky, hidden by clouds. Everything was either gray or snow-white, which Ava would not have been able to get used to - her edges were more native and cheerful than the dreary snowdrifts or spruce forests. The sun was just rising, illuminating the pristine white earth, turning ordinary snow into incredible treasures that glittered in the light.

Odin pulled a hood over her head, nodding to the guards who let them into the castle. She felt lost, and her anxiety was growing by the second. If she does come back, so Wrathia would scream, smashing everything that comes to hand. Even your own death isn't as bad as this.

He ordered her to stand beside a bed of flowers, surprisingly blooming in cold weather. The purple petals were incredibly pleasant to the touch, and the aroma was reminiscent of the herbs that Wrathia smoked in tense moments. Do they stuff all sorts of pipes with them? While she was thinking about it, Odin had already returned, asking her to follow him.

Inside the castle, everything was different: red painted carpets, paintings of rulers starting from the very first king, and brick fireplaces that heated the rooms and corridors. It wasn't what she'd imagined. The large windows were decorated with curtains of the same size and elegance, falling smoothly in waves.

"A-advise not to stare at s-sides, if you do not want to a-attract too much attention," Odin, leaning towards her, whispered in the ear of a girl who too often examines the surroundings. As it was, he had to lie that he had brought a girl whose outfit was perfectly hidden under his cloak. "I'm going to take you to the r-room, where you can sit for a while, and then I'll c-come, okay?"

"Again?" Ava let out a frustrated sigh, but she wasn't in a position to argue. "Okay..."

After taking the girl to the library, Odin exhaled and began to frantically think of a plan that would be to convince ava that she was innocent and could return to her kingdom. Only here, he is the king, and she introduced herself as an ordinary guard, which goes against all plans.

"The only thing that can hide my face is a mask..." he thought, wandering through the corridors near the library, until two birds attacked him.

"Hey, Odin, did not manage to become a big shot, so he began to take girls to his house more often than violators?" Crow snickered, grabbing her brother's arm and hanging on to it as if it were a branch.

"She is the i-intruder, but..." the sisters had an innate ability to interrupt people without waiting for an answer.

"Then why are you hiding it, as if you don't want her to be recognized as a spy or something?" Raven is as curious as Crow, even in this small matter.

"B-because..." Odin wanted to explain his actions, but he was abruptly interrupted by a loud exclamation from the demon.

"Wrathia, is that you?"


	3. Failed pretender and memories of the past

"D-damn," A worried smile appeared on his lips, followed by a small, panicked laugh. That's just not enough for the whole picture. The sisters stared at their brother, who was leaning against the wall in hopelessness. "That's it, t-that's the end of it, she was spotted by that d-d-damned demon."

"Yeah, Odin, you're totally..." Raven grinned slyly, intending to continue the sentence, but Crow stopped her mouth and started whispering to the twin. They talked suspiciously for a long time, sometimes glancing at their brother, who was thinking about something. "We can help you, though. For a reason, of course."

"What d-do you want?" Arrow with incomprehension, turning around, looked at the sisters, who were planning something bad, even a little malicious.

"You'll do whatever we want, okay? In return, we will play along with you by putting on a show about our king and brother not being here right now. Then you will quickly change your appearance, and then you will take care of everything else. Deal?" the girls held out their hands enticingly, inviting them to their side. At first, Odin doubted their deal, looking for a trick, but time was very tight, so he had to agree to such a murky agreement. "Good brother."

***

Ava, as soon as the door closed behind her, looked around the vast library, covered with a small layer of dust, flying in the air. These huge books had not been touched for a long time, except for a couple of thick leather-bound manuscripts and a few letters that were of no interest. Outside the large window, a gray city could be seen slowly waking from a recent dream. Heavy clouds hung low over the houses, and the newly risen sun barely illuminated the ground through a blanket of air.

These people were no different from her people. They are just as fun, hard-working, and the children run around teasing each other. "Why did the war start so many years ago? Did our wise ancestors not understand this?" thinking about this, Ava slowly walked through such a mysterious place, hiding many secrets and answers to various questions. This library was not like any other: there was something unusual in the air, a feeling that could not be described in words, but it was what disturbed her heart, which began to beat faster and faster as soon as she went to one of the many bookcases.

The hand itself was reaching for the history of all the kingdoms, as if it wanted to show her something, to warn her about something. Time passed slowly, as if the whole world was concentrating on this moment, stretching it out as long as possible. But before she could open such a massive book, as soon as her fingers touched the hard cover of the chronicle, the silence, so pleasant to the ears, was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"Wrathia?" Ava almost dropped the book when she heard the name of the demoness, who was probably going crazy right now, cursing Ire a million times. Nothing better than to hide behind a shelf, the girl did not come up with, given the fact that she needs not to attract attention. "I know you're here."

Heavy footsteps echoed through the room, and the door closed with a heavy creak, cutting off the path to escape. Holding her mouth shut, Ava tried not to make any unnecessary sounds, so that the stranger would not notice her presence. The footsteps came nearer and farther, but they did nothing to reassure the queen. The room was filled with the smell of sweet smoke, a little mind-numbing. She didn't know who was in the library and why he knows Wrathia. Did they know each other? Or is it a demon that the demoness wants to meet every year?

"Found it," a voice said next to her. Turning her head, she saw a purple demon with a hideous skull mask, like flowers growing in a garden.

With a small cry, Ava backed away from him, pressing herself against the wall. She has nowhere to run — she is trapped.

"Don't be afraid, princess," the demon said, holding a lilac dragonfly on his finger as it flew into the air. "I'm sorry, I confused you with my wife; your smell is surprisingly similar. I'm Pedri Nanezgani, the demon of this realm.

"I..." Ava was speechless, looking up at him, startled. Her lips were trembling like a leaf in the wind, and her thoughts were all the same: she was curling up in a ball, shutting out the world.

"Ava!" Odin burst into the room, opening the doors loudly, making a deafening sound.

"Don't yell like that, or you'll scare her off," a thin female voice said.

"Yeah, you want to be more feared? And so mother nature did not give a beautiful face," a similar voice sarcastically supported the first. Maybe strangers-sisters? But Ava seemed to swallow her tongue, not intending to utter a word.

Pedri did a u-turn and came to him, a gesture at her while hiding in the corner of the bookcase and hiding his face with his hands. "I must look pathetic..." echoed in her head, repeated over and over again. Come to think of it, where should she go? Her home kingdom would take her back, of course, but the rumors would poison her existence for the rest of her life. "Our queen herself has gone to that forest...", "I did not think that the queen would want to leave us in such a difficult time...", "How can we trust such a ruler who does not respect himself?!" they echoed and echoed her, and the imagination itself drew terrible pictures: people look at her maliciously and contemptuously, pointing their fingers at the disgusting queen.

"Hey, it's o-okay," came a voice overhead. When she opened her eyes, she saw Odin looking at her with concern. "I'm sorry about him, he can be s-scary sometimes."

"Don't get cocky, boy, if it wasn't for me..." but he was quickly silenced by the sisters, who were almost identical to each other, stepping on his foot and quickly pointing something with their fingers, they caused a little suspicious look about the whole situation.

"Well, the king is... absent at the moment," Odin said, trying to make it sound as if it were true. "So it's best that you tell me about y-yourself while he's gone..."

"That he may be merciful to you!" the girl with the bow on her head shouted, interrupting the boy who was gritting his teeth. Ava parted her lips, intending to ask a question, but was silenced by not knowing the name of the new people. "I'm Raven and this is my sister, Crow," she pointed at her, looking somewhere to the side. "We are the king's younger sisters."

"Glad to meet you, my name is Ava," smiling, Ava closed her eyes, remembering her childhood friend who left her a pendant around her neck, which she still wears. Their sweet and slightly kind features, not at all suitable for the realm of the Dead, reminded her of her childhood with Maggie, who became the queen of Summer. In any case, their friendship ended on an unpleasant note — it still sometimes escalates.

"In any c-case, Ava, w-who are you?" Odin put on a serious mask, changing his usual expression. Even his voice was a little harder, as a guard should be.

"I...ordinary girl," uncomfortably avoiding strict views representatives kingdom Death, she tried to as something hide its title, but lie to among these jackals was futile.

"In-time, your c-clothing and manner of speech a-absolutely not corresponds to the usual c-c-commoner," proudly he concluded, quite stretched out in a half-smile that does not like the girl, unfriendly looking at him. "I mean, w-with all that in mind…"

"She's a queen," after interrupting Odin and bowing slightly to Ava, Pedri crossed his arms over his chest, beating a rhythm on his shoulder. "Only an idiot wouldn't understand that."

There was an awkward silence. Ire was looking at the beautiful and painted carpet, and Odin and the twins were, to put it mildly, in shock, having gone somewhere to whisper. You couldn't tell what they were talking about, but one thing was clear: these guys were hiding something. Judging by their expressions, Odin was clearly displeased with something, nervously rubbing the bridge of his nose and biting his lip until it bled, and the sisters were trying to prove something that Ava did not know. The discussion broke off abruptly, and the disputants moved away from each other, offended at the interlocutor. Suddenly, one of the twins quickly whispered to her sister.

"...Bet?!" she heard out of the corner of my ear.

Crow ran up to her and began to touch her dress of autumn leaves, very confused Ava, winding a strand of brown hair on her finger. She touched everything: the wreath on her head, the dress, her hands, her feet, even tried to feel for her breasts, until she received a light slap on the palm of her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Hm, there's no doubt about it! She's like a real queen!" Crow concluded happily, with a satisfied smile. "You lost the bet!"

"Oh, shit," Raven whimpered, handing her sister the ten gold coins she wanted. "It wasn't a fair bet!"

"You'll be arguing s-somewhere else," Odin interrupted, strictly counting out the two twins. They stuck out their tongues at him as if he were their own brother to be teased and mocked. But now his slightly angry expression switched to ava, demanding an explanation. "Why didn't you t-tell me you were the q-queen of the Autumn lands?"

"You didn't ask; And, as Pedri said, I suppose I look like a queen?" she shrugged, trying not to look into his piercing eyes. The whole situation was a bit contused and confusing. Ava from sweet girl, which always was, decided to take a moment to learn from nature Wrathia. "And come to think of it, I didn't have to tell you this, it was information I was going to present to your king. I don't owe anything to ordinary guards."

"Arch, it's d-difficult with you!" clutching his head, Odin walked back and forth, trying to calm the nerves that eventually gave up. "I, for y-y-your information...!" he shouted at the entire library, making the sisters laugh a little and surprising the calm, as a boa, Nanezgani a little. But he was not allowed to finish his outpouring of soul, because one uninvited guest came running to them.

"Your Majesty!" said a voice near the door. A guard rushed into the room like a hurricane, bringing news to his king. "Your advisors are waiting and cannot start the council without you."

Odin's alarmed gaze crossed with ava's rather surprised one, grinning like a cat after milk.

"Who's the bigger liar?"

***

"So you really are from the Dying realm!" Raven exclaimed as soon as Odin left the library, shyly covering his face with his hands. But Crow nudged her, telling her to watch her words. "Oh, that is from the Autumn Kingdom."

"Dying? Why this name?" Ava was surprised by this name, although she herself calls Winter differently. Pedri, looking out of the big window, was thinking wistfully about something, but because of the mask it was impossible to determine the true emotions. Sitting at the spruce table with the twins, they had a nice conversation, waiting for the arrival of the king, Odin.

"Well, if you explain why our earth is called the Kingdom of the Dead, then, so be it, we will tell," Crow, playing with a dagger, with a twinkle in her purple eyes, decided to learn some things from, roughly speaking, a foreigner.

"Hmm, there's a logical explanation!" opting to keep quiet about personal hatred to one of their kingdom, namely to the former ruler, who is the older brother of Odin and the sisters, Ava passed on the rumors that she had heard among her people: nothing grows in Winter, everything is so lifeless, as if dead. "Some people compare you to reapers who take lives."

The two sisters looked at each other skeptically, then let out a sigh of exasperation. They didn't seem too happy about it.

"Is something wrong? Have I offended you?" Ire was chattering like a bird, apologizing for her words. But they only laughed out loud at this.

"Do you have dry leaves for brains or something?" Raven wiped small tears from her eyes as she looked at the disheveled queen. "We just expected... something more than just dead fields."

"I agree, they usually call us ruthless murderers who don't give a damn about morals," Crow mimicked the rumor with air quotes and a slight grin. Adjusting her dark purple jacket with its thin straps, she continued. "Still, the information is quite useful, at least for us. And now we will tell you about your name."

"Let me tell you!" Raven shouted, slamming the table with delight. There was excitement in her eyes, and crow had an icy calm that reminded her a little of Odin. But the sister only sighed heavily, passing the word to the twin. "Well, do you know that Autumn brings everything closer to death? If you go back in history, when the First reigned, then all the kingdoms were united, and each season was replaced by another every three months. After a stormy summer, a peaceful autumn was coming, preparing the earth for a long sleep. It is then that everything around withers, slowly dies, and nature finally falls asleep by the arrival of winter. The Dying kingdom… It is symbolic, isn't it?" Raven smiled slyly, intriguingly waiting for ava's reaction to the story.

"Oh, it's all clear now! I was expecting the worst, to be honest, but this story is great!"

The sisters quickly whispered, surprised and not understanding the stranger, who liked this arrangement of events. But while they were talking, Pedri came up to them and told them to "go for a walk," and after a few curses in a language she didn't understand, they were left alone in the library.

"So, queen, I would like to talk to you in private; as you see, we are already alone, let's start," he sat down at the table, towering over him with a difference of about a meter and a half. A necklace of small skulls made an unpleasant sound to the ears, announcing death. This demon scared her with its nature, calmness, and cold voice, which is unusual for Ava. "I'll ask you questions, just like you asked me. Make yourself at home, no one will touch you here. At least the boy won't let it happen, and neither will I."

"Why not?" without realizing it, Ava asked the first question, which the demon quickly answered.

"You're a big shot, aren't you? The boy will not allow another dead royal person to fall on the already blackened honor of the kingdom," Ire considered this logical, even understanding Odin's difficult situation. "And I can't let you die because of my wife. Don't you know that if a demon doesn't save at least one heir, it will suffer an agonizing, terrifying fate, where it will suffer unbearable pain indefinitely?"

"N-no, Wrathia didn't say that..." embarrassed his, she turned away, drawing attention to the letter lying around. There were so many curses intended for the Arrow royal family. Maybe she's not the only one who wants to run away from all these problems. And is there a way to bring back the quiet time?

"Now it's my turn. How is my beloved wife? I, after all, had not seen her blinding beauty for a year, overshadowing everything around her," while offering magnificent compliments to Wrathia, Ava could not say this about her: usually this beast screams at her when the queen is in a more or less normal mood, demanding that Ire return that advice in order to see her dearest husband again. "Don't be silent! Or did she have someone else? If so, I will destroy this slug!"

"No, no, she's all right! She often talks about you when she's bored, which is why she often mopes or drinks," which was true, but she didn't mention the frequent scandals about the uncertain future.

"Hmm, almost nothing has changed, I'm glad," scratching the back of his head, he changed his voice a little, making it softer than before. Ava was silent, not knowing what to say. Their reaction is quite expected: they have been together for more than a thousand years, and a year of separation does its job, driving them crazy. "So, the boy is coming soon, so ask questions before he comes."

"Exactly! Pedri, do you happen to know why the First started the war years ago?" Ava asked the question, determined to find out the true reason for the massacre. Maybe in that war lies the answer to the tormenting questions? First, the demon rubbed his chin, thinking. But things didn't go according to plan. Nanezgani, as if remembering something, groaned with an invisible pain, knocking the table on its side, causing Ava to fall to the floor, hitting her hard. The demon, writhing in convulsions, mumbled terribly, as if reliving over and over again the excruciating suffering of which he had spoken earlier.

"No, no, no! I want to protect her! I won't die again! Stop it!" he roared, his voice deafening. Fragments of the past flashed before my eyes again. That bloody scene would haunt him to the end of time, and his dying screams would become music in his personal Hell. Why doesn't he remember anything about his life before death? Why is it so unbearable to want to tear your skin, pull out all your insides, just to stop suffering?

Throwing off the mask and revealing a face scarred by scars, Pedri bit through his hand to the base of the bone, chewing off a whole chunk of meat and sending a fountain of scarlet blood that fell on Ava, who was trembling violently with fear. He tore his body apart, exposing his veins to the outside. Ira couldn't even scream, as if she was frozen to the floor, watching the bloody and agonizing scene. Blood was everywhere: on the walls, on the carpet, on the hands and the girl.

Laughing horribly, Nanezgani sank his claws into his belly, ripping open the exposed belly and pulling out his entrails, wrapping them around the remains of his arm as if he didn't feel any pain.

"Our treachery was unforgivable, Ire. That is why we cannot allow such a thing to happen again," the demon said seriously, looking at the frightened girl. A moment later, there was a terrible crunch of the neck, and the demon fell to the floor, turning into a swarm of purple dragonflies that flew in all directions.

Then everything was a blur. She couldn't tell when the restless sisters had arrived, or when Odin had, but she remembered how they had screamed when they saw the huge pools of thick red liquid, the flying dragonflies, and the bloodied Ava sitting motionless like a porcelain doll. She doesn't remember anything except the chilling and dazed screams. Nothing. The last thing she felt was a soft bed and a pillow soaked in smoke and pine needles.

***

She watched the creation of the world. As on a dead, useless planet came the four lords who are the First. The Phoenix, the Reaper, the Naiad, and the Dryad brought life to this world, transforming a lump of mud into magnificent forests, mountains, oceans, and the first civilization to submit to the power of wise men. As the Sun follows the Moon, so life flowed over the years, until great cities and palaces were formed in honor of their masters. The magic of the former was so great that they established a cycle of seasons so that existence itself was magnificent. Each of them represented their time, in order to show the people that everyone is important to life and there are no unnecessary ones among them. And people only worshipped their great rulers more.

There was only one agreement among the First: their children, who would rule after them, must not fall in love with each other, otherwise it would be considered a betrayal worthy of death. But the child of the Phoenix and the son of the Reaper disobeyed them, fleeing every day to secret places where they sat until morning, warming each other with hugs and sweet wine.

Without understanding why, Ava looked at the world through the eyes of Wrathia, who was twirling around the mirror in a beautiful purple dress. She was the same as Ire remembered, except there was no smug grin on her face, just a soft smile and flushed cheeks. Suddenly a woman came into the room, covered with feathers that seemed to burn with a hot fire.

Large wings fluttered behind her, and her scarlet hair floated softly in the air, not touching her body. It was Phoenix, one of the First and mother Wrathia.

"Where are you dressing up again? I thought Nevi was helping my father with sea creatures, didn't I?" her voice was as soft as honey, like ava's mother's when she was a child. Even the Phoenix had such a tender look that you wanted to stay under forever.

"I'm going...to walk," said Wrathia, burgundy braiding your hair into an adorable braid.

"Oh, if you have an admirer, that's great!" Phoenix exclaimed, flapping her wings behind her. "Can you tell me who the lucky guy is?"

"Mmm, not yet, mom," the future demoness evaded in confusion. "I'm not asking you how you're reborn every fifty years, so it's still a mystery."

"You know how to get away from the subject," sighing, Phoenix, approaching her daughter, ran her hand through her hair, imperceptibly sticking her pen in them. "I wish you good fun!"

***

Wrathia was running to a meeting she was already late for. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, shining a last bloody ray on the prosperous land. Life during the First was almost no different from the present, if you do not take into account the constant quarrels. Judging by the terrain, it had come to the border between Winter and Autumn; but there was only one huge tree, whose shadow hid the dozing Pedri. His scythe, which he held in his hand, was plastered with Wrathia's favourite dragonflies, and the skull mask lay submissively on the grass, crushed by such an accessory.

"Pedri!" Wrathia cried, running up to her beloved, awake from favourite call. "Sorry I'm late again! I hope you didn't wait long for me."

"About an hour, if the shadow is anything to go by, but that's okay — you're back with me now, in my arms," they didn't care about the ban, they didn't care. As long as they have each other, everything is fine. How many lovers embraced each other, melting in each other's arms, it was impossible to say. But Pedri decided to remember the past. "Do you remember the first time I got your attention?"

"You mean the ball where you killed my annoying boyfriend?" remembering the day that will never forget, the girl playfully took the mask that Pedri wears as a trophy, the meaning of which is clear only to the enemy. "I was amazed at the time when you cut his body into small pieces and exposed a stupid skull that didn't have a drop of brain in it. This bloodthirstiness did not please your father, because the dead man was to be my husband in the future."

"But I achieved my goal," he smiled and kissed her sweet lips, drawing her to him. The night light illuminated their bodies, as hot as the lava.

"You dare use my own tricks against me, Pedri?" a sly grin, Wrathia gently touched the thin neck language, painting an unclear picture and causing a muffled exhalations. "Bad boy."

They teased each other, confessing a true love that they had never experienced before. But their happiness came to a terrible end.

"Wrathia, you did not submit my boyfriend?" the Phoenix's voice came from the sky as it gently descended. A moment later, the Reaper emerged from the shadows, glaring at the pair he loathed.

The dream ended abruptly.


	4. Winter routine and summer mornings

She awoke in a large and dark room, where thick and huge curtains prevented any light from entering. Her eyes took a long time to get used to the darkness, until they dimly saw the surrounding space: the bed on which she was lying was at the top of the stairs, which gave her a view of the entire room; at the other end of the room was a full-length mirror, decorated with precious stones, like the bed; on the floor were scattered parchments of paper and pillows-the occupant of these rooms often stumbled in the darkness; wooden chairs seemed to surround the soft bed, and a table stood alone near a curtained window.

Propping herself up, the Ire was dressed in a purple shirt, which resembled the night-robe Wrathia. "Why do they like the color purple so much?" the queen wondered, looking at the dress that had been left for her to wear instead of the soiled one. That's right, last night. Pedri tore himself apart as soon as he remembered his life before becoming what he was now. Horrified by her own thought, Ava pushed it away, trying not to imagine the bloody and screaming scenes in her head.

As she scrambled out of bed and pulled back the huge, warm blanket that smelled like pine needles, she noticed that her shoes were exactly the same size, but in a different shade. Progress.

Going to the mirror, Ava looked at her attire, which was different from her usual attire: a soft, silk-like dress with long sleeves clung to a skinny body that did not know either normal sleep or the usual diet, from which she tried so hard to escape. The length went almost to the floor, given the small growth, and the design could not help but surprise: openwork sleeves painted a picture of the starry sky; a little tight lacing on the chest beautifully represented an absolutely flat chest, where there is nothing to highlight; from the belt, which was tied with a huge bow, came a lighter shade of lilac, and on the sides it was surrounded by lacy dark purple patterns made in various and strange symbols.

This outfit was eerily strange to her, even though she still had the pretty wreath. Everything in this room looked huge, from the bookcases to the white wolf skin at the foot of the bed.

Quietly opening the massive door to the corridor, Ava looked around, hoping for at least one living soul. But there was no sign of anyone. Trying not to make too much noise, Ire walked quietly along the long corridors hung with paintings, tapping her small heel a little. There were candles everywhere, giving off a pleasant and soothing scent, which, judging by how little wax had been removed from them, must have been put on recently. The wooden doors were repeated one after the other, as if they were a maze and not a lock. As she zigzagged from one flight of stairs to the next, she finally lost track of where She was. This was the fifth time Ire had seen this picture of flowers, and this tapestry with the emblem of the Winter kingdom was repeated from time to time. If she can even get lost in her own castle, then in a strange area the girl is powerless without a guide.

Hearing the clatter of dishes, Ava followed the sound, feeling the pleasant notes of tender meat. Occasionally stumbling on the soft carpet, Ire hurried to the source of the noise, almost crying with helplessness. The familiar voice whined as the queen neared her destination-the kitchen:

"Merida, I'll die if I peel another potato!" when Ava looked into the kitchen, she saw three girls: two of the twins she already knew, and the third lady was a maid who was peeling vegetables with her sisters.

"Lady Raven, no one has ever died from peeling potatoes," the red-haired girl with short bangs counted out the princess sternly, swinging a sharp knife lightly.

"Then I'll be the first!" Raven sprawled in a chair in the middle of the kitchen, where soups boiled and pans sizzled, her arms outstretched, her eyes closed.

"Don't whine, Raven, we volunteered for this," Crow said, busily peeling potatoes, occasionally glancing at the hard-working Merida.

"You're the one who wants to have a kind of "date" while Odin isn't looking, aren't you?" blurting it out, the twin watched her sister's instantly flushed face, ready to strangle Raven in an instant. But Merida interrupted the exchange.

"But, lady Crow, you don't need to help me with my dirty work to spend time together," the girl with glasses stopped slicing vegetables, looking at the princess so solicitously. She clapped her hands and smiled sweetly. "You can just ask me out if you want to."

"Really?" Crow's eyes lit up like a puppy. Cupping her cheeks in her hands, she turned away, whispering softly. "So cute!"

"Ugh, Crow!" the twin hated all the mawkishness that her sister usually showed when she saw Merida.

Ava watched the scene for a while, which almost turned into a fight; a large hand was placed on her shoulder, and a voice whispered with interest:

"H-having fun?" turning around, Ava saw Odin closed the door to the kitchen.

"N-no! I just..." Ire tried to explain, but Arrow kept interrupting her, despite her many attempts. The girl noticed that Odin had changed noticeably in terms of clothing: instead of the warm clothes, he was wearing a royal robe decorated with rubies and sapphires, and a rather large crown completed the refined image. But what was invariable was the gloves.

"What are you l-looking at?" following her gaze, he turned his attention to his gloves, where his fingers were adorned with magnificent rings with huge stones that any woman would envy.

"Why do you wear them?" trying not to look into those piercing eyes, Ava stared at her shoes, which were drawing a strange pattern on the carpet.

"It takes a long time to explain, it's easier to show," a basket of fresh flowers that had been carefully tended, and Odin off a silk glove and lightly touched the plant, causing it to instantly wither and crumble to black ash. "It's just that it hasn't been as strong since c-childhood as it was after t-taking the throne. Your s-soul is connected to the d-demon's soul in a peculiar way. And Crow and Raven will also be l-linked to P-pedri if I die without l-leaving an heir."

"Is it unpleasant?" she clenched her hands into a fist and tried to calm the heat that was building in her fingertips.

"Not really, I'm used to everything dying around me. This is the spell of the Reaper, the First," Odin shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, studying ava's slightly startled face, which made him hurry to reassure her. "It doesn't apply to living p-people if c-c-control it. As far as I know, if you use this ability in full f-force, the person j-just falls into a coma."

"Why are you telling me this?" a spark of disbelief flickered in her eyes for a second.

"You're not a th-hreat to me, you k-know. On the c-contrary, I can use you as a bait, a r-ransom, or something of that s-sort," Arrow grinned maliciously as he put on a glove and adjusted his robe. "So it's b-better for us to k-know about each other's abilities while you're h-here. You have a c-curse, too, don't you?"

"I..." she hesitated, turning over a million thoughts in her head, "What should I do?", "I'm trapped!", "Why should I tell him?".

"All right, let's go to another p-place, and on the way, you'll t-think about how I can show your a-ability," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling the struggling Ire, who couldn't compete with a man's strength. "I don't want to d-deal with the s-sisters again."

"Let go!" without listening to her, Odin continued to lead her through the tangled corridors until Ava was as red as the sun. "I said let go!"

Arrow snatched his hand away and hissed at the hole in his glove, which was smoking as if from a fire. The girl clamped her hands over her mouth, startled by the man's grip on her wrist.

"Sorry!" she ran over and almost tripped over her dress, then gently touched the burn, which instantly stopped hurting. Ava, not looking at him, lightly squeezed her fingers around the king's arm. "I didn't mean to, honestly."

"So f-fire, huh?" with a grin, Odin proudly concluded that it was better not to make Ava angry if you didn't want to get burned. "Come on, we're still not far away."

They walked on in awkward silence, Odin muttering incoherently to himself, while Ire followed quietly, clutching the fabric of her dress. She remembered herself as a child, when her father showed her the castle, and the little girl, holding on to the big sleeve, tried to catch up with him with tiny steps. Involuntarily, Ava squeezed the edge of Odin's cuff, very surprised at this. But he said nothing, slowing down a little.

After a while, they came to a huge door that opened into a huge living room, where a nice fire was burning.

"P-please," having gone inside, Odin waited until the girl dares to cross the threshold of this room. "I dare say the r-room doesn't bite."

Hearing arrow's impudent words, Ava, barely dumbfounded sigh, proudly raised her nose and firmly walked inside, not even noticing the almost laughing face.

This room was almost the same as a library, if you took into account the same mess on the tables and a lot of bookshelves, the shelves of which have long been dusty from disuse. Outside the large window, a blizzard was raging, making an unpleasant heavy howl and periodic tapping sounds. But this place was different from the abode of knowledge with a kind of home comfort, family love and an aura of past happiness.

"Sit down," Odin ordered, shuffling through the papers on the huge desk until he pulled out some letters addressed to her. "While you were out almost a-all day, your m-missing was noticed in your kingdom. And..." Odin hesitated, scratching his beard, thinking about something. "these t-threats are rather unpleasant."

"Did I sleep all day?" when she didn't hear arrow's last words, Ava was startled, almost jumping up from the cushioned sofa.

"Yes, a-although it's not surprising; anyone would have been in s-shock after that. But this later, with-now it is important another - your d-demon threatens us r-reprisal, if we not in return you," taking the burnt paper, covered with rare traces from fiery touches, Odin, having lit his pipe, stuffed with those lilac petals, held out a letter to the girl:

> _"Listen, you winter brats - I will not be afraid to burn all your land, despite my adored and unique husband. No one, you hear, no one dared to steal the queens from their land! And if you filthy slugs don't give it back to me, then I won't spare my life to give it back to you! I give you three days, or all your trees will serve as logs for my fire!"_

After reading such an extravagant letter, Ava quite exhaled, smiling a little. Despite their rather strained relationship, Wrathia is just as protective of her, albeit in her own way, as she was of others before her.

"By the way, she wrote you a letter, too, but no one has read it," Ava said, pushing the second paper, which bore the seal of the Kingdom of Autumn, and anticipating something bad, given the unbearable and barely perceptible smell of burning, familiar from childhood. Opening the letter, she began to read it with horror, without speaking aloud:

> _"Little girl! How dare you leave ME at a time like this? Do you have any idea what happened in those two days? Your walks have gone too far! The people demanded your presence, and the excuse "Her Majesty is not feeling well" stops working! As soon as you come back, little beast, don't expect any mercy, understand?! I won't let you out of the castle again, you ungrateful lamprey!"_

Closing her eyes, she clutched the paper in her hands, moving away from this world. Problems. She wanted to go back to her childhood, when the only problems were bad sleep and a failed lesson in any subject.

"Are you all right?" waking Ava from her reverie, Odin looked questioningly at her, who was trembling a little. "If you're s-sick, you'd better go s-sleep - I won't let anyone out in this s-storm, believe me."

"Thank you, but I must go home tomorrow, if I can call it that," she said, looking sadly out of the window, imagining her fields dotted with withered, but no less beautiful, flowers; bushes with juicy and heavy berries; trees whose leaves never stopped falling, constantly circling in an unusual dance. "Even if I'm not expected there."

Odin started to say something, but was interrupted by the door opening slowly, but with a terrible creak. Pedri entered the room as if nothing had happened.

Ava went white in an instant, and beads of sweat rolled down her face as soon as she saw that ominous mask. The dream of his past only made her more afraid.

"Boy, here you are hiding," without noticing Ire, the demon approached Odin, taking the smoking pipe. "Going out again instead of doing your job? At this rate, you're going to piss me off."

"That's g-great!" I'll be the first in the s-story, who angered u-unwavering Pedri Nanezgani!" pretending to be enthusiastic, Odin patted himself as he took back his pipe. "They should write a m-memoir about me."

"Your spineless character...!" Pedri clutched his head, and Arrow just as calmly let out purple smoke that dissolved in the air. But the demon saw Ire huddled on the sofa surface, staring at him in fright. Turning to her, he asked, "Did you see a ghost?"

Without saying anything, Ava curled into a ball, hiding her face in the soft fabric.

***

A charming girl in a short dress made of the greenest leaves was jumping around the castle, snatching flatterers who were squeaking at this. Maggie, queen of the Summer lands, walks around her castle every morning with her eyes closed contentedly. This is only her realm. And no one else's.

The brown-haired woman waved away the fairies who circled around her with a light movement of her hand, and her green eyes wearily scanned the monotonous pictures of the beloved princess of her demon, as apathetic as a worm. Glass frames shattered on the wood floor, where the occasional cute flower that irritated Maggie sprouted.

"Tuuuls," the queen drawled to her demon, who was still hiding from her in this huge castle that resembled a charming pink peony bud. "Come out here, I'll find you anyway!

"Ah, queen Magnolia!" the flowers, yellow as a bright sun, babbled, flattering the girl. "You are as beautiful as ever today! Your eyes shine like emeralds!"

"Where's Tuls, weeds?" ignoring the hypocritical compliments, she always tries to get to the point.

"He doesn't want to see you, Maggie," the azure fairies whispered as they flew and landed in her arms. "You're not going to yell at him, are you?"

With a smile, Magnolia invited one of the flying creatures into her palm. "I will," Maggie said, clenching her hand into a fist that was soaked in sweet blood like fruit jelly and waving her curls at Tuls.

She noticed a small thicket leading to one of the rooms, where she could hear soft singing, as sad as it was annoying. Maggie groaned as she made her way through the tangled vines, almost falling to the floor.

"Tuls, would you mind removing your plants?" Lacivi grumbled angrily as the demon dipped a soft brush in yellow paint and carefully drew his beloved across the paper. "There is a concept of "weeding", have you ever heard of it?"

"Honey… Kind… Ranunculae..." whispered the tree demon, huge as a great oak, but skinny as a birch. His eyes were focused only on another painting, which depicted a small girl who looked like a spring flower. Her hair was the color of wheat, and her eyes were as bright as topaz.

"Arch, again you draw your color-headed princess; not tired?" Maggie climbed out of the creepy thicket that the plant guy was growing and sat on tuls's knee, playing with the red leaves on his head.

"Oh... Magnolia…" he lowered his gaze and looked wearily at her, whose crown of red berries and leaves slid lower than it should have. "How... are you?"

"I'm surprised at your gardening skills! But it doesn't matter," Maggie said, waving her hand away. "I have important business with you. Even though I've cornered these frozen hypocrites, I don't think they'll just sit still!"

"And...so what?" Tuls didn't care about all the feuds between the realms until it came to attacking his land. He continued to draw the dress of his Ranunculae while the queen babbled incessantly.

"And the fact that I need the _**strength**_ ," highlighting the last word, she slyly looked at the demon abruptly stopped moving the brush. "I need your _**strength**_."

The turquoise eyes lit up at the realization of what the queen was offering.

"Exactly, Tuls. I want to make a _**pact**_ with you."


	5. Winter routine and summer mornings

She awoke in a large and dark room, where thick and huge curtains prevented any light from entering. Her eyes took a long time to get used to the darkness, until they dimly saw the surrounding space: the bed on which she was lying was at the top of the stairs, which gave her a view of the entire room; at the other end of the room was a full-length mirror, decorated with precious stones, like the bed; on the floor were scattered parchments of paper and pillows-the occupant of these rooms often stumbled in the darkness; wooden chairs seemed to surround the soft bed, and a table stood alone near a curtained window.

Propping herself up, the Ire was dressed in a purple shirt, which resembled the night-robe Wrathia. "Why do they like the color purple so much?" the queen wondered, looking at the dress that had been left for her to wear instead of the soiled one. That's right, last night. Pedri tore himself apart as soon as he remembered his life before becoming what he was now. Horrified by her own thought, Ava pushed it away, trying not to imagine the bloody and screaming scenes in her head.

As she scrambled out of bed and pulled back the huge, warm blanket that smelled like pine needles, she noticed that her shoes were exactly the same size, but in a different shade. Progress.

Going to the mirror, Ava looked at her attire, which was different from her usual attire: a soft, silk-like dress with long sleeves clung to a skinny body that did not know either normal sleep or the usual diet, from which she tried so hard to escape. The length went almost to the floor, given the small growth, and the design could not help but surprise: openwork sleeves painted a picture of the starry sky; a little tight lacing on the chest beautifully represented an absolutely flat chest, where there is nothing to highlight; from the belt, which was tied with a huge bow, came a lighter shade of lilac, and on the sides it was surrounded by lacy dark purple patterns made in various and strange symbols.

This outfit was eerily strange to her, even though she still had the pretty wreath. Everything in this room looked huge, from the bookcases to the white wolf skin at the foot of the bed.

Quietly opening the massive door to the corridor, Ava looked around, hoping for at least one living soul. But there was no sign of anyone. Trying not to make too much noise, Ire walked quietly along the long corridors hung with paintings, tapping her small heel a little. There were candles everywhere, giving off a pleasant and soothing scent, which, judging by how little wax had been removed from them, must have been put on recently. The wooden doors were repeated one after the other, as if they were a maze and not a lock. As she zigzagged from one flight of stairs to the next, she finally lost track of where She was. This was the fifth time Ire had seen this picture of flowers, and this tapestry with the emblem of the Winter kingdom was repeated from time to time. If she can even get lost in her own castle, then in a strange area the girl is powerless without a guide.

Hearing the clatter of dishes, Ava followed the sound, feeling the pleasant notes of tender meat. Occasionally stumbling on the soft carpet, Ire hurried to the source of the noise, almost crying with helplessness. The familiar voice whined as the queen neared her destination-the kitchen:

"Merida, I'll die if I peel another potato!" when Ava looked into the kitchen, she saw three girls: two of the twins she already knew, and the third lady was a maid who was peeling vegetables with her sisters.

"Lady Raven, no one has ever died from peeling potatoes," the red-haired girl with short bangs counted out the princess sternly, swinging a sharp knife lightly.

"Then I'll be the first!" Raven sprawled in a chair in the middle of the kitchen, where soups boiled and pans sizzled, her arms outstretched, her eyes closed.

"Don't whine, Raven, we volunteered for this," Crow said, busily peeling potatoes, occasionally glancing at the hard-working Merida.

"You're the one who wants to have a kind of "date" while Odin isn't looking, aren't you?" blurting it out, the twin watched her sister's instantly flushed face, ready to strangle Raven in an instant. But Merida interrupted the exchange.

"But, lady Crow, you don't need to help me with my dirty work to spend time together," the girl with glasses stopped slicing vegetables, looking at the princess so solicitously. She clapped her hands and smiled sweetly. "You can just ask me out if you want to."

"Really?" Crow's eyes lit up like a puppy. Cupping her cheeks in her hands, she turned away, whispering softly. "So cute!"

"Ugh, Crow!" the twin hated all the mawkishness that her sister usually showed when she saw Merida.

Ava watched the scene for a while, which almost turned into a fight; a large hand was placed on her shoulder, and a voice whispered with interest:

"H-having fun?" turning around, Ava saw Odin closed the door to the kitchen.

"N-no! I just..." Ire tried to explain, but Arrow kept interrupting her, despite her many attempts. The girl noticed that Odin had changed noticeably in terms of clothing: instead of the warm clothes, he was wearing a royal robe decorated with rubies and sapphires, and a rather large crown completed the refined image. But what was invariable was the gloves.

"What are you l-looking at?" following her gaze, he turned his attention to his gloves, where his fingers were adorned with magnificent rings with huge stones that any woman would envy.

"Why do you wear them?" trying not to look into those piercing eyes, Ava stared at her shoes, which were drawing a strange pattern on the carpet.

"It takes a long time to explain, it's easier to show," a basket of fresh flowers that had been carefully tended, and Odin off a silk glove and lightly touched the plant, causing it to instantly wither and crumble to black ash. "It's just that it hasn't been as strong since c-childhood as it was after t-taking the throne. Your s-soul is connected to the d-demon's soul in a peculiar way. And Crow and Raven will also be l-linked to P-pedri if I die without l-leaving an heir."

"Is it unpleasant?" she clenched her hands into a fist and tried to calm the heat that was building in her fingertips.

"Not really, I'm used to everything dying around me. This is the spell of the Reaper, the First," Odin shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, studying ava's slightly startled face, which made him hurry to reassure her. "It doesn't apply to living p-people if c-c-control it. As far as I know, if you use this ability in full f-force, the person j-just falls into a coma."

"Why are you telling me this?" a spark of disbelief flickered in her eyes for a second.

"You're not a th-hreat to me, you k-know. On the c-contrary, I can use you as a bait, a r-ransom, or something of that s-sort," Arrow grinned maliciously as he put on a glove and adjusted his robe. "So it's b-better for us to k-know about each other's abilities while you're h-here. You have a c-curse, too, don't you?"

"I..." she hesitated, turning over a million thoughts in her head, "What should I do?", "I'm trapped!", "Why should I tell him?".

"All right, let's go to another p-place, and on the way, you'll t-think about how I can show your a-ability," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling the struggling Ire, who couldn't compete with a man's strength. "I don't want to d-deal with the s-sisters again."

"Let go!" without listening to her, Odin continued to lead her through the tangled corridors until Ava was as red as the sun. "I said let go!"

Arrow snatched his hand away and hissed at the hole in his glove, which was smoking as if from a fire. The girl clamped her hands over her mouth, startled by the man's grip on her wrist.

"Sorry!" she ran over and almost tripped over her dress, then gently touched the burn, which instantly stopped hurting. Ava, not looking at him, lightly squeezed her fingers around the king's arm. "I didn't mean to, honestly."

"So f-fire, huh?" with a grin, Odin proudly concluded that it was better not to make Ava angry if you didn't want to get burned. "Come on, we're still not far away."

They walked on in awkward silence, Odin muttering incoherently to himself, while Ire followed quietly, clutching the fabric of her dress. She remembered herself as a child, when her father showed her the castle, and the little girl, holding on to the big sleeve, tried to catch up with him with tiny steps. Involuntarily, Ava squeezed the edge of Odin's cuff, very surprised at this. But he said nothing, slowing down a little.

After a while, they came to a huge door that opened into a huge living room, where a nice fire was burning.

"P-please," having gone inside, Odin waited until the girl dares to cross the threshold of this room. "I dare say the r-room doesn't bite."

Hearing arrow's impudent words, Ava, barely dumbfounded sigh, proudly raised her nose and firmly walked inside, not even noticing the almost laughing face.

This room was almost the same as a library, if you took into account the same mess on the tables and a lot of bookshelves, the shelves of which have long been dusty from disuse. Outside the large window, a blizzard was raging, making an unpleasant heavy howl and periodic tapping sounds. But this place was different from the abode of knowledge with a kind of home comfort, family love and an aura of past happiness.

"Sit down," Odin ordered, shuffling through the papers on the huge desk until he pulled out some letters addressed to her. "While you were out almost a-all day, your m-missing was noticed in your kingdom. And..." Odin hesitated, scratching his beard, thinking about something. "these t-threats are rather unpleasant."

"Did I sleep all day?" when she didn't hear arrow's last words, Ava was startled, almost jumping up from the cushioned sofa.

"Yes, a-although it's not surprising; anyone would have been in s-shock after that. But this later, with-now it is important another - your d-demon threatens us r-reprisal, if we not in return you," taking the burnt paper, covered with rare traces from fiery touches, Odin, having lit his pipe, stuffed with those lilac petals, held out a letter to the girl:

> _"Listen, you winter brats - I will not be afraid to burn all your land, despite my adored and unique husband. No one, you hear, no one dared to steal the queens from their land! And if you filthy slugs don't give it back to me, then I won't spare my life to give it back to you! I give you three days, or all your trees will serve as logs for my fire!"_

After reading such an extravagant letter, Ava quite exhaled, smiling a little. Despite their rather strained relationship, Wrathia is just as protective of her, albeit in her own way, as she was of others before her.

"By the way, she wrote you a letter, too, but no one has read it," Ava said, pushing the second paper, which bore the seal of the Kingdom of Autumn, and anticipating something bad, given the unbearable and barely perceptible smell of burning, familiar from childhood. Opening the letter, she began to read it with horror, without speaking aloud:

> _"Little girl! How dare you leave ME at a time like this? Do you have any idea what happened in those two days? Your walks have gone too far! The people demanded your presence, and the excuse "Her Majesty is not feeling well" stops working! As soon as you come back, little beast, don't expect any mercy, understand?! I won't let you out of the castle again, you ungrateful lamprey!"_

Closing her eyes, she clutched the paper in her hands, moving away from this world. Problems. She wanted to go back to her childhood, when the only problems were bad sleep and a failed lesson in any subject.

"Are you all right?" waking Ava from her reverie, Odin looked questioningly at her, who was trembling a little. "If you're s-sick, you'd better go s-sleep - I won't let anyone out in this s-storm, believe me."

"Thank you, but I must go home tomorrow, if I can call it that," she said, looking sadly out of the window, imagining her fields dotted with withered, but no less beautiful, flowers; bushes with juicy and heavy berries; trees whose leaves never stopped falling, constantly circling in an unusual dance. "Even if I'm not expected there."

Odin started to say something, but was interrupted by the door opening slowly, but with a terrible creak. Pedri entered the room as if nothing had happened.

Ava went white in an instant, and beads of sweat rolled down her face as soon as she saw that ominous mask. The dream of his past only made her more afraid.

"Boy, here you are hiding," without noticing Ire, the demon approached Odin, taking the smoking pipe. "Going out again instead of doing your job? At this rate, you're going to piss me off."

"That's g-great!" I'll be the first in the s-story, who angered u-unwavering Pedri Nanezgani!" pretending to be enthusiastic, Odin patted himself as he took back his pipe. "They should write a m-memoir about me."

"Your spineless character...!" Pedri clutched his head, and Arrow just as calmly let out purple smoke that dissolved in the air. But the demon saw Ire huddled on the sofa surface, staring at him in fright. Turning to her, he asked, "Did you see a ghost?"

Without saying anything, Ava curled into a ball, hiding her face in the soft fabric.

***

A charming girl in a short dress made of the greenest leaves was jumping around the castle, snatching flatterers who were squeaking at this. Maggie, queen of the Summer lands, walks around her castle every morning with her eyes closed contentedly. This is only her realm. And no one else's.

The brown-haired woman waved away the fairies who circled around her with a light movement of her hand, and her green eyes wearily scanned the monotonous pictures of the beloved princess of her demon, as apathetic as a worm. Glass frames shattered on the wood floor, where the occasional cute flower that irritated Maggie sprouted.

"Tuuuls," the queen drawled to her demon, who was still hiding from her in this huge castle that resembled a charming pink peony bud. "Come out here, I'll find you anyway!

"Ah, queen Magnolia!" the flowers, yellow as a bright sun, babbled, flattering the girl. "You are as beautiful as ever today! Your eyes shine like emeralds!"

"Where's Tuls, weeds?" ignoring the hypocritical compliments, she always tries to get to the point.

"He doesn't want to see you, Maggie," the azure fairies whispered as they flew and landed in her arms. "You're not going to yell at him, are you?"

With a smile, Magnolia invited one of the flying creatures into her palm. "I will," Maggie said, clenching her hand into a fist that was soaked in sweet blood like fruit jelly and waving her curls at Tuls.

She noticed a small thicket leading to one of the rooms, where she could hear soft singing, as sad as it was annoying. Maggie groaned as she made her way through the tangled vines, almost falling to the floor.

"Tuls, would you mind removing your plants?" Lacivi grumbled angrily as the demon dipped a soft brush in yellow paint and carefully drew his beloved across the paper. "There is a concept of "weeding", have you ever heard of it?"

"Honey… Kind… Ranunculae..." whispered the tree demon, huge as a great oak, but skinny as a birch. His eyes were focused only on another painting, which depicted a small girl who looked like a spring flower. Her hair was the color of wheat, and her eyes were as bright as topaz.

"Arch, again you draw your color-headed princess; not tired?" Maggie climbed out of the creepy thicket that the plant guy was growing and sat on tuls's knee, playing with the red leaves on his head.

"Oh... Magnolia…" he lowered his gaze and looked wearily at her, whose crown of red berries and leaves slid lower than it should have. "How... are you?"

"I'm surprised at your gardening skills! But it doesn't matter," Maggie said, waving her hand away. "I have important business with you. Even though I've cornered these frozen hypocrites, I don't think they'll just sit still!"

"And...so what?" Tuls didn't care about all the feuds between the realms until it came to attacking his land. He continued to draw the dress of his Ranunculae while the queen babbled incessantly.

"And the fact that I need the _**strength**_ ," highlighting the last word, she slyly looked at the demon abruptly stopped moving the brush. "I need your _**strength**_."

The turquoise eyes lit up at the realization of what the queen was offering.

"Exactly, Tuls. I want to make a _**pact**_ with you."


	6. Hungry night's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I know that my English is not the best, because translating from Russian is quite difficult. So maybe one of you who cares can help with grammar? This is very selfish, but I know that there are good people on this site :3

When Ava lay down on the soft bed after another hard day in this huge castle, so reminiscent of a maze, she sadly looked out the window, which was madly knocked by the wind. The storm has been going on for several days, not even allowing you to go outside — the queen can not return to her land. She was given a separate room, empty, lonely, and empty except for one bed. It was here that she would wake up and spend most of the day, occasionally leaving it to eat or pick up another book.

Odin strictly forbade Ava to walk freely around the castle, for fear of spreading information about the queen of Autumn and its current location — unnecessary rumors to him. But her sisters always came to talk to her about all sorts of girly things that Arrow didn't understand. Alas, he was too ashamed to ask about Ire, who looked sadly out of the window, where people who dared to go outside were killed by a terrible hurricane.

For two days in a row, he did not go to her, and she avoided him, as if afraid of something. You bet. After trying to explain Pedri's "rebirth" to Ava, Ire finally withdrew into herself, not wanting to talk to the king. And he didn't mind much, even though he felt empty.

Shivering a little from the cold, so typical of winter, Ava quickly crawled under the soft and warm blanket until she was completely warmed. She didn't like this kind of life at all: it was disgusting at home, it was depressing here. If it hadn't been for Arrow, who had so "sweetly" rescued Ire, she would have been dead long ago.

Such thoughts were so exhausting that her stomach growled like the roar of a wild animal. Because of the ban, she tried not to leave the room, making herself "hungry days", even though she was offered food — stupid pride would not allow her to eat.

"I want meat," Ava concluded, trying to calm the painfully loud stomach that demanded at least a crumb of bread.

" _For the love of all the gods, Ava, get over your worthless pride and go to the kitchen_!" the first voice shouted, appealing to the little conscience that such a girl should have.

" ** _No, Ava, be proud! Let them come to you, begging you to eat a piece! Otherwise, the starvation of the queen of Autumn will disgrace the already rotten earth_**!" interrupting the first voice, the second snakelike whispered, coaxing to stay in bed, though with great hunger.

" _Shut_ _up, she must eat to be proud_!"

" _ **No, you just don't understand**_!"

These voices were so intrusive that the girl simply gave up, taking the side of the first. It's the middle of the night — everyone's asleep. No one will notice the missing food, having prepared a new one in the morning. But the queen will eat without being hungry.

Somehow getting up from the huge bed, Ava threw on a huge shirt that reached to her knees. This thing somehow ended up in her room, smelling pleasantly familiar.

Opening the door a crack, she looked around as usual, making sure the corridors were empty.

Step by step. Cold, burning my toes. A little shortness of breath. Heat in the palms of your hands.

She remembered the way to the kitchen almost immediately, as soon as she was hungry - everyone was busy. Nice soft carpet tickled her bare feet, and the candles barely illuminated the long corridors. The flowers in some of the pots were reduced to black ash, while others were beautifully fragrant and soothing.

The kitchen door was closed, and there was no light at all. I'll have to use a little magic, she decided, looking hard at her finger, which was slowly heating up to the color of lava. Flash! The tip of the phalanx glowed scarlet, lighting up as well as a candle. This power is quite difficult to control, considering those terrible nights after the death of their parents. Ava burned all around him, while Wrathia coming out of the binge, not taught to keep your fire to yourself. A little practice - voila! The torch queen is at your service.

Entering a place that was constantly stealing buns and other food, Ava directed her light in different directions, looking for the coveted piece of meat or fish, but there was nothing around except soft buns and fruit as delicious as ambrosia of the gods.

"It's not meat, of course, but it's food," she concluded, biting into the elastic dough and taking a decent bite of an apple. Ava didn't eat all day, having spent it behind a huge stack of history books of the First.

Forgetting all the queen's manners, Ira sat down on the floor with her legs spread out in different directions. Juice dripped from his hands, dripping onto his black shirt, and crumbs stuck uncomfortably to the corners of his mouth. At such moments, she realized how cool it was to be an ordinary person.

Eating in the dark, because she had to put out her little "candle", was so romantic, as described in those books, read at leisure by languid ladies. The scents of comfort and life tickled my nose, making me sneeze easily. Being in the kitchen as a child was a whole adventure, consisting in stealing something from under the strict gaze of cooks who were ready to give a wooden spoon to the palm. She will never forget how she stole a whole cake, eating it triumphantly in some corner forgotten by everyone.

Not having eaten two rolls and three apples, Ava continued to grope for food, dropping everything that was superfluous. Spoons, forks, salt, pepper, spices, and a knife.

"Where's the food?" she whispered viciously, warming to a scarlet glow that lit up the space until her pyjamas began to smoke. The room suddenly became light, and the girl beheld a huge plate of cottage cheese casserole, next to which lay a sharp knife to cut such a tempting dessert.

The queen tripped over various flasks that had been thrown on the floor and ran for the food, grabbing the knife that glittered in the firelight with a single swipe. Placing her hand next to the plate, Ava raised the device over her head, intending to slice the casserole.

"Ava? W-what the hell are you doing?" a familiar bass voice sounded near the door. Ire glanced back at the voice, missing and almost cutting off her finger, only cutting it deeply. She screamed in pain, burning more than ever. Her shirt was half charred, becoming a kind of fuel for the fire. The queen was on fire, or rather her clothes, forming an excellent reason for the fire. Quickly putting the burning candle on the table and grabbing a jug of water, Odin poured the contents on the water, so dangerous and fiery.

Drenched in water with her pajamas, holding on with the last of her strength and thread, Ire stared in fascination at the finger that continued to bleed. The thick liquid quickly flowed down the phalanx, dripping onto the floor full of crumbs from buns. The girl was barely sobbing, feeling the wound begin to burn.

Indeed, Odin stood in a stupor. Himself in his casual clothes, because only recently finished with paperwork, looks at the almost burned down kitchen Ava, who can not be left alone if you do not want another problem.

***

"What h-happened?" grabbing Ire by the wrist and dragging her without resistance in an unknown direction for her, Odin on the way asked about various things, but the girl stubbornly remained silent, occasionally sobbing in pain. "Don't t-tell me that I saved you for nothing in that forest, so that you would decide to die here in my c-castle!"

"It's none of your business," she said, trying to keep up with arrow's fast pace. "I didn't ask you to save me, for your information."

"Is that how we t-talk now?" abruptly turning, causing Ava to slam her face into his torso, Odin hissed angrily at her as she held the falling fabric in one hand. "W-well, excuse me for s-saving a p-person I didn't know! N-next time will leave the same as you, on a f-fend. I just can't believe I'm saving you from the same m-m-mistake a second time.

"Second?" Odin continued on, leading her as Ava asked questions about things she didn't understand.

"Well, yes, f-first in the woods, now - s-second. Your a-attempts to end your life are already i-infuriating! First the forest, then this s-s-stupid hunger strike that my sisters ate t-through my ears, and now this k-knife trick?" he answered her with obvious rudeness as he opened the door to a huge and dusty room draped in black cloth. Pushing Ava inside, Odin looked around before closing the door behind him.

"But I'm not..!" Ire broke off and looked around in fascination: the walls had been climbed in some places, and some of the paintings had been shot through with pointed arrows. Throwing a long jacket in Ava's face so that she wouldn't have to worry about the burned shirt, Odin looked around the room with distaste. "What is this place?"

"My parent's workroom," Odin said curtly, beginning to search through the creaking drawers. "But h-here, as you can see, e-everything is destroyed. My b-brother did a good job — his f-frequent breakdowns were not without c-consequences."

"Your brother?" Odin sat Ava down on a chair, prematurely removing the makeshift ashtray, and took out a bandage and scissors to treat the wound, which was already caked with age.

"Yes, Olai - my b-biggest nightmare after this d-demon, who b-became a thorn in my life," almost weightlessly Arrow carefully washed the wound from the blood, revealing a deep cut that immediately began to sting. "Always b-busy, a favorite of the people, who b-betrayed them in the end. He didn't like his f-family, he was more attracted to the p-power that s-sought. But this is not the t-topic I want to t-talk about at the m-moment.

While the man bandaged her finger, Ava swayed her legs a little and looked at the only picture without any damage. The black cloth covered most of the canvas, leaving only the face of a grown, pretty woman with the gentle eyes of all mothers. Her brown hair was piled up in a coiffure, and a small fur cloak was all that was visible in the picture.

"Odin, is this your mother?" interrupting him from an important task, Ava pointed to the painting of a smiling woman.

"Yes," without even looking at the image of his mother, Odin closed his eyes more tightly, pushing away all sorts of thoughts. "But it's none of your business, Ava. My mother is d-dead, and so are all my dreams of a q-quiet life.

"What...?" she wanted to get up and go to the painting, but Odin just snapped the scissors loudly, startling the girl. It is he who can shut a person up in such a peculiar way without saying a word.

"I'm f-finished," Ire afraid that she had once again angered arrow, who was looking down at her so menacingly. But instead of anger, she was met with a playfulness that was very strange in this situation. "You'd better go with me, or you'll burn me something again, Firepaw."

***

"Ava!" Maggie shouted, calling her friend to play ball. The sun played with them playfully, sending out bright bunnies that dazzled their eyes. The brown-haired girl tossed the ball from one hand to the other, waiting for Ire, who seemed to swallow a stick. "I can't play alone! Have a conscience in the end!"

"I'm going..." she whispered, breaking away from standing under the shadow of the tree that held most of the princess's secrets. That day, Ire had the same nightmare that lasted most of the night. It seemed to her that the killer was standing around every corner, savoring the terrified look of his victim, and in the windows watched the brutal eyes devouring the girl.

Slowly approaching Maggie, Ava constantly looked around, panicking for the main character of her dreams. She missed every throw of the ball, getting hit after hit on the head. In the chase, Ire did not even try to run away, for fear of wasting her strength to escape from the killer. And in hide-and-seek, she always tried to hide deeper than usual, breaking the rules.

"Ava, I don't play like that!" the little princess of Summer screamed, angry at her friend who was soaring in the clouds. "If you don't want to play my games, then offer it yourself, you smart one."

"But I don't want to play..." she whispered, looking sharply at something behind the Magnolia, as if she saw someone there.

"Are you hiding something from me?" as she slowly approached Ava, Maggie was hoping to find out some funny secret that the brown-haired woman was so hopelessly hiding. Ire was the only friend she didn't want to lose.

"No, Maggie, I'm not hiding anything," Ire excitedly backed away from the girl in the yellow dress, looking fearfully into the curious eyes. The body slowly warmed up to a high temperature, which made my head feel very dizzy, and my heart beat much faster. She was afraid to scare your thoughts of Lacivi, otherwise the last thought her crazy.

"Then tell me what's going on!" Maggie screamed at her friend, trying to get to the truth that hurt the brown-haired girl's feelings. Ignoring Ire's blushing face, she kept coming closer and closer until she was hovering over Ava, trying to find out the secret. "You're not yourself today: inattentive, absent-minded, as if you're expecting an attack any minute! And this is not the first time! Explain why?!"

"I don't know!" Ava screamed at the top of her voice, deafening herself as images of the nightmare flashed through her mind. A sharp heat burned her entire body until everything around her was palpable, as if she'd been in some other place.

"Hello, Ava Ire, my dear," a woman stood before her, covered in fiery feathers, with huge folded wings on her back. "I came to talk to you, the seeker of the truth. Tell me: do you want to free everyone by creating a perfect world?"

***

Jumping out of bed, Ava didn't know how to put all these thoughts on the shelves, deciding to first tell these words to Odin, as one of the descendants of the Reaper.

Running out of the room, almost falling as usual, she ran in an unknown direction until she bumped into the person she was looking for.

"My God, Firepaw, I told you not to leave the r-room!" he wailed, pushing away the agitated Ire, who was ready to explode with too much energy.

"I know how to unite the whole world!" she shouted, happily looking at Odin, who was a little surprised. "We urgently need to assemble a meeting of the Four Moons!" 


End file.
